Overview
- A Meta spokesperson confirmed an internal prototype of a standalone app called Instants for sending disappearing photos, with no external testing underway.
- Mobile developer Alessandro Paluzzi identified the Instants name via a screenshot that describes sharing disappearing photos with friends.
- Instagram is also running a limited Instants test inside the main app in some countries, after previously referring to the feature as Shots.
- Instagram’s help documentation says Instants photos open once, expire 24 hours after sending, can be sent only to followers you follow back, and cannot be edited.
- The push builds on Instagram’s past disappearing tools from 2016 and Vanish Mode from 2020, and there is no indication the standalone app will be released publicly.